May 27th, 2009 |
Some of the most interesting challenges facing the Federal Public Service can be found in the growing communities of public servants using external social media tools. You don’t have to look too far to see that public servants are actively using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – and not just as private citizens. If you look at any one of these tools, you will find broad and vibrant communities of public servants: citizens debating, discussing and meeting to talk about things they are passionate about – and often it is their work.
On the surface, this social phenomenon offers significant opportunities for government institutions struggling with public service renewal. What better way to harness the passion and inventiveness of employees than to give them the tools and the freedom to engage outside the bureaucratic firewall? And it takes only a small step further to see the deeper benefits, the potential to engage with stakeholders and citizens. Imagine the creation of policies and the design of programs in a world where employees are able to discuss, debate, and capture ideas from thousands or even hundreds of thousands of citizens.
The traditional approach is often unidirectional: good communications plans are designed simply to get the message out. Interaction and input from citizens is limited to the channels of surveys, focus groups or portal Web sites. Focusing on official and unidirectional channels is still effective in many contexts, but how long will this remain the case? In short, will traditional methods be sufficient to engage citizens of the next generation, when already they are furiously debating and discussing issues they care about, on their own terms and using their own tools?
Asking these communities to come to us to provide their input is like asking loud and boisterous partygoers to leave their party and come over to your house for tea. Reception will be much better if you just go over and listen – and ask important questions. The idea of an open government bureaucracy that engages citizens at all levels has some very obvious challenges, such as the impact on traditional decision making, privacy, and accountability. I think that the most important challenge can be found in how the core values of the public servant (neutrality, anonymity, fairness and most importantly supporting elected officials) interact with the values engendered in social media (openness, equality, and community). At one time, the political affiliations and opinions of a public servant were only discussed privately. But in today’s world of YouTube and Twitter, where what was once private is increasingly – and willingly – made public, the idea of anonymity goes out the window.
The bottom line is that public servants are a part of an increasingly interconnected, open and accountable world. And frankly, governments need to develop guidance for them, because public servants have already been using social media for quite some time, trying to make Canada a better place. And we must support them.
Afterthought
You might be wondering why I am treating the broad use of these tools as a fait accompli. We could simply build internal systems or mandate that public servants don’t use external tools except through very controlled channels. We are already setting up internal tools, and they will have an impact. But I don’t believe they can replace the true value of external systems. Also, employees have great latitude to discuss their work interests as private citizens. In doing so, they are generating a wealth of information and knowledge that could be lost to the organization, if the split between private and public servant personas is institutionalized. Accepting the use of external social media tools embraces a public servant as a whole person, and embraces all they have the power to contribute.
(Thx 2 blog pixies)
8 Responses to “The public servant in social media”
Agree totally that “this social [networking] phenomenon offers significant opportunities for government institutions struggling with public service renewal.” To be a bit more pointed, it’s adapt or die an HR death as social-media-dependent grads reject the civil service as a career option because they simply can’t communicate in the modes they’re used to. The boomers can’t carry the can forever. New blood is required ASAP, but it will be harder to attract with a close-minded approach to social networking.
Nathan Rudyk
http://www.market2world.com
Peter, you have touched on the reality that does exist within the current structure of the public service. As the social fabric changes, we as a goverment must embrace the changes and communicate / interact with the public at large through many different ways.
Social media and social networking is not something that is going away, and with it gradually creeping into many departments, it is imperative that as leaders within these organizations we encourage the interaction that this offers. Gone are the days of old and the new frontier that is upon us is one of transparency and openness.
I agree that participation in external systems holds immense value for the public service. Policies and programs developed and implemented alongside the “debate, discussion and ideas of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of citizens” is likely to be more successful due to increased awareness, trust and perhaps even a sense of citizen ownership in the end product.
Although bureaucratic accountability is at debate (who’s responsible if an employee says something stupid online?), institutional accountability will be enhanced. How? As citizens witness the inclusion of debates, discussions and ideas in policies and programs, their respect and trust for the institution will grow.
Great post!
Great post. I agree wholeheartedly that the split between our private/personal and public servant personas should not be institutionalized. Those two selves are completely indivisible as far as I’m concerned. My responsibilities as a public servant are as entwined into my private life as they are my professional life. And the ‘work’ I do in my private life plays an ever growing role in my professional life.
Yes, so far the internal use of social media tools (GCpedia, GCconnex, etc.) is showing great promise in improving the agility and effectiveness of the federal government workplace. The first step, as you know, was to provide a guideline for the acceptable use of internally installed and internally facing Web 2.0 tools for the federal public service. The first approved version of this is now available.
Agreed that providing guidance to employees and departments and agencies for acceptable and appropriate use of external social media is needed to understand expectations and the potential value of new media. The work has now begun to provide guidance for the acceptable use of external tools (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) in conjunction will policy centres, communities of practice and other departments and governments who have been early adopters.
I agree that guidance is needed for public servants who are using social media. I also believe that senior public servants have an obligation to gain exposure to the new tools, either by using them personally or getting a guided tour from one of many colleagues and employees who would be happy to show them the ropes. It’s the best way to understand the risks and rewards of tools like Twitter and LinkedIn.
My idea of the day: let’s have a discussion about online reputation. There are many angles to the topic, but here are just two questions: Do public servants have a special duty to maintain a professional on-line reputation? How does one’s on-line reputation help or hinder one’s career?
Great post Peter. Thanks for the Twitter link.
Hi Peter! It’s so nice reading this after meeting you.
A great example of a social network for gov’t folks is GovLoop: http://govloop.com.
It’s built on the Ning platform, and I think it just crossed 20,000 members. It’s for the “gov’t community.” I think the bulk of its members are gov’t employees, but there are also folks interested in gov’t.
Your broad point is very important. I love good analogies, and this one rocks. In fact, I think I’ll have to tweet it: “Asking these communities to come to us to provide their input is like asking loud and boisterous partygoers to leave their party and come over to your house for tea. Reception will be much better if you just go over and listen – and ask important questions.”
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